Paulo Gavaia, Elsa Cabrita, and Catarina Oliveira, CCMAR researchers, won the best poster award, among more than 800 submitted papers, at the annual conference of the European Aquaculture Society.

In this study, our researchers have shown that changes in the phenotype (observable characteristics of an organism or population) of the species most often result in cranial deformities. This type of deformity is associated with an inappropriate omega-3 diet during the early stages of the fish's life, and also with a positive phototaxis problem (reaction of an organism towards light) that leads the fish to collide with the white walls of the tank. This problem can be easily avoided by using darker tanks in fish culture.

However, these deformities are rarely observed in the wild and the researchers feel that more efforts should be made in this area of research to reduce the incidence of deformities, which will be crucial for the success of the species in the industry.

The PhD students from the CCMAR Aquagroup also participated in the conference with several oral presentations and posters in the most diverse topics from reproduction, fish welfare to nutrition and low trophic aquaculture. 

The annual conference of the European Aquaculture Society was held in Funchal, Madeira, and took place between October 4 and 7.